Question: Help with new newt!!!!

[Fig Newton]

I live in Burnaby.... which is in Southwest British Columbia. It's been very rainy here the last few weeks. I woke up the other morning to find this adorable little guy on my kitchen floor! Naturally, I wanted to keep him, so I've named him Fig Newton. I've put him in my huge 50 gallon tank, which is left behind from when I had my veiled chameleon. I've got it basically set up now, and am hoping it will be suitable, but I'd like to know what KIND of newt/salamander I have, and how best to care for him.
Any help would be HUGELY appreciated.. I've given some crickets to him and mealworms but as far as I can tell he has not eaten any yet. I am assuming it's a boy, his tail is very long, and the cloacia is a little "bulgy"

By the way... you can't see his belly but it is translucent white, it's very cool you can see his little heart beating and his insides. He's just about two inches long, not counting his tail. He's very docile and will sit and hang onto my finger and chill out, though I don't want to touch him too much in case he's one of the "lungless" ones I've heard about.
Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Mark]

It looks like Ensatina eschscholtzii. Ensure you offer appropriate sized food. As a general rule softbodied invertebrates that are no longer than the width of his head are perfect. Earthworms chopped to size and left to wriggle on an upturned lid, slugs, small woodlice, waxworms are all acceptable.

Don't handle him. Salamanders have very sensitive, delicate skin which easily becomes damaged - not to mention the chemicals you may have on your hands (soap etc).

As a wild animal unaccustomed to captivity he may take some time to settle in and feed. Good luck.

 

[Lusiwarrior]

You're a Lucky! Only me is that I do not enter a beauty of these inside the house. I know a story of a boy who went to the market to buy a cabbage and inside was a T. boscai, that here in my country of course! The identity do not know what to say, but you can try to find here: Caudata Culture Species Database - Plethodontidae
As for not eating because it can be strange, however, is to be hungry and I know one thing that no newt resistant, worm of the earth!
I have helped!
Good luck with it!

 

[Nathan050793]

Additionally, it probably wouldn't hurt to check your local laws to make sure it is legal to keep it in your area.

 

[Jennewt]

The setup looks OK, but it does have a lid, right? These guys are escape artists.

 

[Fig Newton]

Thanks for the tips! I work for the government in my City and it is ok to house something like that, as long as I don't plan on breeding to sell and such. I've given him meal worms... can't tell if he's eaten any yet or not but he seems to be roaming around his new home... liking the reptile dirt and moss. I don't have a lid as when I had my chameleon we had a potted tree in the tank with her and she could climb up the tree to get up high and visit and such... I'm going to look at the pet stores and try to find a cover- the one pet store I went to did not have any big enough in stock.
Do you know what the lifespan on these guys are, and how to tell how old they are? Also, I don't want to seem like an idiot, but what about salmonella? What temperature should I be keeping him at... the soil is nice and cool but we do have a heat lamp and I don't want to fry him! I really love my new little Fig Newton.

Also... what about lighting? Anything special? Do they hate bright light? Love it? Black lights ok?

 

[Bowl of seeds]

Alternatively, You can go to your local Hardware store and make your own screen top with the materials they sell for fixing/making window screens.

Like so:
Do It Yourself Screen Kits : QUALITY SCREEN CO, Window Screens & Solar Screen Supplies, Kits & Parts Online

You can cut it to the size of your tank to fit perfectly, you just need to install some sort of handle to lift the screen to feed,clean,etc.

Hope this helps and Good Luck.

-Frank

 

[Kaysie]

Get rid of the heat lamp, post haste. These guys like it COOL. No more than room temperature (70F), preferably cooler. If you have a basement, this is the best place to keep them. It's cool and damp there.

Mealworms aren't the best food. They've got a hard exoskeleton, and tough jaws which can injure your salamander. Try earthworms.

Lifespan could be up to 20 years. Unfortunately, unless it's very young, there's really no way to tell how old it is. It could be 2 years or 12.

You don't have to worry about salmonella if you're not handling it. You shouldn't be handling it for reasons already listed.

Don't use bright lights unless your salamander has really good places to hide (which are dark). If you have to use lights for a planted terrarium, use the minimum amount of light necessary. Stay away from black lights.

 

[Jennewt]

If you can't get a lid right away, put a wide lip of duct tape (the universal fix!) around the top edge of the tank. Most sals cannot get past a 2-inch horizontal lip. This is of the utmost urgency! See:
Caudata Culture Articles - Escape

 

[Fig Newton]

I got rid of the heat lamp, and put in a 75 watt infared lamp, so we can see him at night. there's also a temp gauge on the tank, so I"ll try and keep him cool. I got reptile soil and moss, so I soaked that all up and put it in the tank and am spraying it down with rainwater in order to keep it cool and moist, and I have lots of little hiding holes inthe tank for him. I have to keep a normal light on during the day as he's in the room with our pet cockatiel. This is the safest room in the house for both of them, as we also have two cats. This room is also the coolest, being the intake vent room for the furnace, so it's kept cooler naturally.
I got very tiny crickets, and am checking my yard to find some earthworms to chop up, but will he eat them if they're dead? He's not very big, his body excluding tail is just under 2inches long.
I will pick up some duct tape and do that idea, thank you!!! We found a place in our town that makes lids custom designed to fit your tank and pet needs, at a very good price, so we will be having a lid made.


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[Fig Newton]

I forgot to ask; we're thinking of finding him a friend to share the mondo space- I know these guys are not really local to us, so if I cannot find one in the forest in my backyard or at a pet store- would getting a different breed of newt/salamander be an issue?

 

[Kaysie]

I would do away with the lamps all together. Your salamander will be more comfortable without them.

Earthworms should be chopped to the size of the width of the salamander's head. Live and wiggly is best.

You should only add another salamander if you can find one of the exact same species, and you have appropriately quarantined it. It is NOT advised to mix species.

 

[Fig Newton]

Hm... ok no lamps. I found a couple earthworms last night and cut them into a couple small pieces... hopefully he eats, but I'm assuming it will take him a bit to acclimatize to his new digs. I'm still surprised... I've lived in this city for my whole 30 years and have never seen a lizard anywhere! I'm half wondering if he escaped from someone's house.... anybody know if this type of salamander is local to Southwest BC or not?

 

[Nathan050793]

I've lived in this city for my whole 30 years and have never seen a lizard anywhere! I'm half wondering if he escaped from someone's house.... anybody know if this type of salamander is local to Southwest BC or not?

You probably haven't seen any lizards, because salamanders aren't lizards! In fact, they're amphibians (like frogs), which are an entirely different class of animals than reptiles. Neat stuff, huh?

And yes, that particular species is native to the Southwestern regions of British Columbia.

 

[Fig Newton]

Good to know! maybe there is hope for finding him a girlfriend to keep him company then :grin:

I've attached some more photos of the adorable little guy.... my hubby and I are totally and completely in love with him!